


Mythical Recovery

by Valentina_Ivan



Category: Rhett & Link, Rhett and Link RPF
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Brain Injury, Coma, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Intensive care, Major Character Injury, No Rhink, POV Rhett, Rhett and Link are only friends, no kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:09:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentina_Ivan/pseuds/Valentina_Ivan
Summary: Link suffers a traumatic injury while filming Good Mythical Morning. Told from Rhett's POV





	Mythical Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, I really hate RPFs, I don't like reading or writing them. It just seems creepy since these are actual living people. That being said, I wrote one anyway and of course one of them got hurt because hurt fics are seriously all that I write. I hadn't planned on this, however after the bridesmaid episode several months ago when Jen nailed Link with a bag of flour I got to thinking about what would happen if he really did suffer a severe head injury. So enjoy. As always any comments or constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks for reading.

“Goooood mythical morning!” Link said cheerfully into the camera. “Today we are going to look at ancient beasts and decide are they real or mythical?”

  
“That’s right,” Rhett chimed in, “Plus we are going to talk to a real magician and see if we can become master magicians,” Rhett’s voice dropped dramatically low when he said the last part.

  
“But first,” Link added, “We are looking at informercial products and deciding are “They for the best, or should they be put to rest?”

  
The filming that day went off without a hitch-almost. While testing out the “Hawaii chair” a chair with a seat that was supposed to swivel and give the user a feeling of a hula dancer, Link got a little over enthusiastic and the chair tipped forward, while the seat and Link went backwards, sending Link headfirst into the filing cabinet on set.  
“You okay Link?’ Rhett asked, dropping to Link’s side.

  
“What the crap?!” Link exclaimed, sitting up. “That wasn’t supposed to do that!” He tried to stand up but became lightheaded.

  
“You hit your head pretty hard, maybe you should take it easy for a moment.” Rhett placed his hand on Link’s shoulder.

  
“I’m fine,” Link asserted standing up. He started to waver, Rhett grabbed him and guided him over to the desk.

  
The next segment was a game where Link had to guess if an ancient animal was real or a myth, he did terribly, but he always did terribly at trivia games. The magician segment had been filmed a few days earlier, so after they filmed the trivia segment they just had to film the outro segment and then Good Mythical More. Link seemed fine during the outro filming, but when they started Good Mythical More, Rhett noticed he was becoming much shakier than normal.  
“You sure you’re ok?” Rhett asked Link quietly.

  
“What? Yeah, I’m perfectly fine,” Link seemed slightly dazed before he answered. Rhett was beginning to feel uneasy about his friend’s condition.  
“We can skip Mythical More if you’re not up to it,” Concern shown in Rhett’s green eyes as he looked as his friend.

  
“No, it’s fine. Just have a bit of a headache,” Link took off his glasses and rubbed his temples with one hand.

  
Rhett didn’t like the idea of continuing filming, but Link was insistent. However, about 10 minutes into filming, Rhett noticed that Link was having trouble speaking, his words becoming more and more slurred. Rhett was about to cut filming when Link’s head hit the desk. Before anyone could react, Link slid out of the chair and onto the floor with a stomach-turning thump.

  
“LINK!” Rhett was at his friend’s side in seconds, Link was out cold. “Call an ambulance!” Rhett called to the crew. There was a flurry of activity as people scurried around them. Chase came over with a blanket and a pillow that had been used in previous segments. Carefully, he and Rhett lifted Link’s head onto the pillow and covered him with the blanket.

  
The paramedics were there just a few minutes later, being led into the studio by Stevie. After asking several questions and looking Link over, they loaded him onto a stretcher to take him to the ambulance. Rhett was beside him the entire time.

  
“Is anyone riding with us? We have room for one more.” One of the paramedics asked as they headed to the ambulance.

  
“I am,” Rhett said quickly following the paramedics. He stopped at the door though, conflict showing in his face. Stevie knew immediately what he was thinking.

  
“Go,” She said firmly. “I’ll call Christy and Jessie, let them know what has happened. We’ll meet you at the hospital. Link needs you to be with him, go.”

  
Rhett nodded and followed the paramedics into the ambulance.  
*************************************************************************************  
Stevie and the rest of the crew met Rhett in the emergency room an hour later. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his dirty blond hair was sticking up at odd angles. He stood when he saw them enter the waiting room.

  
“Christy and Jessie are on their way.” Stevie said reassuringly. She gently guided Rhett back to his chair. “Have you heard anything?”

  
“He’s in surgery,” Rhett shook his head. He hated not being able to help his best friend.

  
“He’ll be fine,” Stevie gently squeezed Rhett’s hand.

  
They sat in silence, finally Rhett saw Christy come running towards him, Jessie not far behind. Stevie pulled Christy aside and explained what had happened. Rhett stood and wrapped his long frame around his wife, holding her as tight as he could, not wanting to let go. They settled back into their chairs, Rhett’s hand tightly holding his wife’s.  
After about 2 hours, the doctor finally came out to talk to them.

  
“Are you here for Mr. Neal?” He asked. All of them stood and moved towards the doctor. “He is out of surgery and stable, but he’s not out of the woods yet. Mr. Neal has suffered a hematoma, a bleed in his brain. We have managed to stop the bleeding and remove the excess blood around his brain, but there is still some substantial swelling in his brain.”

  
“Will he be alright?” Christy asked quietly, all color gone from her face.

  
“It’s too soon to tell. Since he was lucid for a time before he lost consciousness and we were able to stop the bleeding, it is hopeful, but I cannot say for sure whether or not he will fully recover. He has a long road ahead of him.” The doctor answered solemnly. Christy let out a loud sob.

  
“Can we see him?” Rhett asked, his voice choked with emotion.

  
“He is still in recovery and may be there for some time. Once he is moved to ICU a nurse will come get you.” The doctor excused himself and left the rest of them standing in the waiting room, all of them had tears in their eyes. Stevie had stayed close to Christy, so Rhett could be with Jessie, they all sat back down and waited for the nurse to let them know when they could see Link.  
*************************************************************************************  
They waited about four more hours, at one point Chase and Jen offered to get food for everyone, Rhett gave them the company card, they came back about 20 minutes later with loads of burgers, fries and drinks, but no one was very hungry, they were all too worried about Link. Finally, a nurse came over to them.

  
“You’re all here for Mr. Neal, correct?” She asked, looking over the group. They all stood and nodded. “He has been moved to the ICU, you can see him, but no more than 3 at time and please keep your visits short.” They all agreed and Rhett, Christy and Jessie followed the nurse to Link’s room.

  
Rhett’s breath caught as he entered the sterile hospital room. Link lay on the bed, a bandage around his head, he was hooked to all kinds of monitors and wires, an IV leading to the back of his hand. Rhett knew how much Link hated IVs. There was a large tube in Link’s mouth, helping him breathe. Rhett could feel the tears sting as they slid down his cheeks.

  
Christy sat down next to her husband, taking his limp hand in hers. The entire thing seemed so surreal. Just a few hours before, they were filming GMM, laughing and joking as they always did. Now his best friend was in intensive care fighting for his life. The tears started flowing faster, he could taste their saltiness as they came down his cheeks and into his beard. He felt his wife gently put her arm around him, lightly squeezing his waist. He made his way over to the bed, sitting down opposite Christy, Jessie pulled another chair over and sat beside him. No one said anything, there wasn’t much to say. Stevie had told Christy everything that had happened that led to Link’s injury when she got to the hospital. For a long time, they just sat and watched Link, hoping for some kind of movement, the monitors constant beeping was the only thing that reminded them he was still alive.

  
After some time, a nurse entered the room.

  
“Are you Mr. Neal’s spouse?” She asked, looking at Christy.

  
“Yes,” Christy said shakily, wiping tears from her eyes.

  
“I just have a few quick forms I need you to fill out,” The nurse explained.

  
“Does it have to be now?” Christy asked, glancing at her husband’s lifeless form.

  
“I’m afraid it does, Mrs. Neal. It won’t take long though.” The nurse answered.

  
“It’s alright, Christy,” Jessie reached across the bed and grasped her hand. “Rhett and I will stay with him. I’m sure if anything happens they will let you know.”

  
“I’ll be right back, baby,” she said softly, squeezing his hand before standing. She followed the nurse silently out the door.

  
“We should probably let the crew know how he is and if any of them want to see him.” Rhett said after a few minutes.

  
“Stay with Link,” Jessie stood and squeezed Rhett’s shoulder. “I’ll let them know they can see him.”

  
Rhett nodded silently as Jessie made her way to the door.

  
After about 5 minutes, Stevie, Jen and Chase entered the room. Stevie’s long blond hair was tangled, and her eyes were red and swollen. Jen’s eyes looked equally bloodshot. Chase just seemed in shock.

  
“How is he?” Stevie asked quietly, taking the seat next to Rhett, while Jen sat across from them in Christy’s now empty seat. Chase stayed at the foot of the bed, trying hard not to look at Link.

  
“It’s hard to say,” Rhett answered, his voice becoming thick from the tears. Stevie gently placed her hand on Rhett’s shoulder. “I just can’t believe this is happening. This shouldn’t be happening. He shouldn’t be in a hospital right now. He shouldn’t be fighting to stay alive. We should be at the studio, working on ideas for the next episode. Link should be going home to his wife and kids. Oh God.” A look of panic crossed Rhett’s face as he thought about Link’s 3 children. They should be getting out of school right about now. Christy usually picked them up, who was going to get them today? How were they going to tell them that their dad was in intensive care? Then Rhett thought about his boys, there wasn’t anyone to get them either.

  
“Don’t worry about the kids Rhett,” Stevie seemed to sense what he was thinking. “We called the school and told them what had happened. Mike and Alex are picking them up and bringing them here.”

  
“Thank you, Stevie. I don’t know what we would do without you.” Another tear slid down Rhett’s cheek.  
*************************************************************************************  
The kids all arrived at the hospital about an hour later. Most of the crew had been in to see Link at that point, all visibly upset and red-eyed. Christy had finished the paperwork and returned to her husband’s side when their children came in the door. Mike and Alex had already told them that Link had been in a bad accident and was hurt. Christy stood and wrapped her arms around all three of her kids. Lando crawled into his mother’s lap, while Lily and Lincoln sat across from them. Rhett excused himself and went into the waiting area where his two boys were sitting with Jessie.

  
“Is Link going to be ok?” Shepard asked as Rhett walked over to him. “Alex said he hurt his head.”

  
“I don’t know, son.” Rhett just shook his head and sank into a chair next to his wife.

  
The next several days were a blur, Rhett barely left the hospital, he was either in Link’s room or in the waiting room. Stevie had called Rhett and Link’s parents, making arrangements for all of them to fly from North Carolina to California. Rhett’s mom Diane offered to take care of the kids while Link was in the hospital so that Rhett, Christy, and Link’s parents could focus on Link.  
*************************************************************************************  
Two days after the accident, Rhett had gone home to shower and get a change of clothes. He hadn’t wanted to leave Link’s side in case something happened. Link’s condition hadn’t changed, even though the doctors were hopeful for a recovery.

  
He returned to the hospital about two hours later, there was a commotion in Link’s room when he got there, the monitors were all going crazy, there were nurses and doctors surrounding the bed. Rhett spotted Christy sitting outside the room sobbing, holding hands with Link’s mother, Sue while his father Charles, sat stoic across from them.

  
“What happened?” Rhett asked, sitting next to Christy.

  
“I don’t know,” Christy shook her head. “We were sitting by his bed, he was just lying there. Then all of a sudden his whole body started shaking and all those monitors started going crazy.” She began to sob harder.

  
A few minutes later, they saw Link being wheeled out of the room on a stretcher, one of the nurses had a resuscitator mask over his face and was rhythmically squeezing the balloon to make Link breathe.

  
“What’s going on? What’s happening?” Christy was sobbing. “Where are they taking my husband?”

  
“Mrs. Neal?” The doctor had made his way to them. “The swelling around your husband’s brain seems to have gotten worse, the pressure caused him to have a massive seizure. We are taking him into surgery to try to alleviate that pressure.”

  
“Is my husband going to die?” Christy looked the doctor in the eyes, asking as calmly as she could.

  
“We are doing everything we can to prevent that ma’am,” the doctor told her gravely.  
*************************************************************************************  
The surgery was mildly successful, the pressure on Link’s brain had been reduced and the swelling started going down. After the seizure though, the doctor informed them that Link had gone into a coma and it was not certain when he would wake, if he ever did.

  
Rhett and Stevie had been discussing ways to let their fans know what was going on and that they wouldn’t be filming any new episodes for a long time, if they resumed at all. Finally, they decided they should film a short message and post it on their YouTube channel. It was the hardest thing Rhett had ever had to film.

  
“Hello Mythical Beasts,” He started, his eyes were still bloodshot, and it was obvious he hadn’t slept in a number of days. “I know you are wondering where the new videos of Good Mythical Morning are. Well, there aren’t any and we will be on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time. While filming our last episode, Link was injured rather severely. He hit his head on the filing cabinet and it caused what the doctor has told me is a hematoma, meaning his brain began bleeding. He is in the hospital and in intensive care, the wonderful doctors and nurses here are doing everything they can for him. He has had 2 surgeries so far to remove the blood from inside his skull and to reduce the pressure around his brain, however he has also gone into a coma. Now, I’m told the doctors don’t know when he will wake up from this, however they have taken many scans of his brain and there doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage that they can tell, however they won’t know for sure until he actually wakes up. I know many of you will be disappointed that there won’t be any new videos for a while, however we ask that you keep Link, his family and the rest of the Mythical family in your thoughts and prayers and please be respectful as we all try to get through this and as Link hopefully recovers. Thank you for all of your support and as always, be your Mythical best.” He wiped the tears from his eyes, his voice had been raw with emotion while he recorded the message.

  
The video was posted just a couple hours later, within minutes of the upload they started getting responses from fans wishing Link a speedy recovery and offering their thoughts and prayers, the response became even more remarkable over the next few weeks. Fans began sending cards, gifts, posting messages on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Some fans even recorded get well videos that they sent. The studio became inundated with cards, stuffed animals, flowers and all sorts of other gifts that had been sent by viewers. The staff brought the cards and some of the gifts to the hospital to put in Link’s room. There were too many to bring all of them, so some stayed at the studio until Link was able to return. Rhett read the cards and letters to Link, hoping the positive messages would help somehow.  
*************************************************************************************  
It had been a little over a month since Link’s accident, they were still receiving cards and gifts from fans, Diane and Sue had been taking care of the kids while Rhett and Christy stayed at the hospital most of the time. Jessie was there as often as possible but had to return to work.

  
There was a team of physical therapists who came in every day, moving Link’s body, changing his positioning to prevent bedsores, blood clots and other complications caused by his lack of movement. They also did several exercises with his legs and arms, explaining it would help his muscles and prevent them from atrophying.

  
Slowly, they started to notice Link appeared to move on his own, at first it was very subtle, he squeezed Christy’s hand, his foot moved. The doctors noted that it was a good sign, however it may just be his muscles having spasms. They remained optimistic though, and finally about 5 weeks after the accident, Link’s eyes opened. It wasn’t for very long, only a couple of minutes and he didn’t respond to Rhett or Christy or move any other part of his body. His doctor agreed that it may be a sign that he was beginning to wake up.

  
It was almost two weeks before Link fully woke. His eyes opened several more times, at first that was all that happened, then over time, he began to move other parts of his body as well. During the brief periods he was awake he wasn’t lucid and didn’t seem to be aware of anything. Finally, his eyes fluttered open, and he looked over to where Rhett and Christy were sitting and showed some recognition of who they were. They were both overcome with happiness. Rhett immediately flagged down a nurse who confirmed he was finally coming out of the coma. She left to retrieve the doctor, who did several tests with Link to see if he was lucid or not. He still had the respirator in his mouth and seemed confused by it. The doctor grasped Link’s hand as he reached for the tube to prevent him from trying to take it out.

  
“Don’t pull on that, it’s there to help you.” The doctor explained gently. “We will take it out soon enough, but you need to leave it alone.”

  
Link nodded and lay back against his pillows. Rhett couldn’t tell how alert he actually was though. Christy grasped his hands as tears flowed from her eyes. Link tried to reach for the respirator again, but Christy kept her grasp firm around his hands to prevent him from pulling on it. She had heard of the damage a person could do by pulling out a respirator before a doctor could remove it.

  
“How long does he need to keep that in?” She asked, pointed at the respirator tube. “He’s awake, shouldn’t you be able to remove it?”

  
“Probably not much longer,” The doctor answered. “We need to check his lungs first though, make sure they are able to function on their own.”

  
Confusion still seemed to register on Link’s face. They could tell he wasn’t sure what was happening.

  
“You’re in the hospital baby,” Christy told him gently. “You had a bad accident at work and hit your head.”

  
Link still didn’t seem to understand what was happening. Christy and Rhett looked to the doctor for an explanation.

  
“He probably doesn’t remember what happened,” The doctor explained. “Due to his injury, parts of his brain sort of turned off in order to heal.”

  
As the doctor spoke, Rhett remembered Link’s snowboarding accident many years before, when he ended up with a concussion and broken pelvis. To that day Link still couldn’t remember what actually happened.

  
While the doctor tested Link’s lungs and did a few cognition tests, Rhett went back to the waiting area to tell the crew members that were there that he was finally awake. He found Stevie, who had set up a mini-office in one corner of the room, she leapt out of her chair when Rhett told her Link was awake, almost knocking over her laptop. She quickly flagged down the other crew members that were there, Chase, Ellie, Jen, Mike and Alex, they were all thrilled with the news and started calling other members of the crew as well. Rhett called Sue, who had left to pick up Link’s kids from school, and told her the good news, then he called Jessie to tell her as well.

  
After everyone had been notified, Rhett made his way back to Link’s room, the doctors had just removed the respirator tube and replaced it with a nasal cannula. Rhett had a brief flashback to when he and Link used them to try to guess different scents of air during an episode of GMM. Link kept saying he couldn’t smell anything, and they finally realized he’d put it on upside down. The memory made Rhett smile.

  
“Hey man, how are you doing?” Rhett asked quietly, sitting beside the bed. Link look at him with an odd look, like he was confused by Rhett’s presence. Rhett felt a brief moment of panic when he thought that his best friend of over 30 years didn’t recognize him.

  
“The doctor has instructed him not to try to speak for a while, his throat is very raw from the tube being down it for so long,” Christy explained. She was stroking Link’s hair as she spoke. “He still doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, but the doctor said that should improve over the next few days as he becomes more aware.”

  
Rhett slipped his hand into Link’s like he had so many times over the past few weeks. Rhett normally wouldn’t have willingly held hands with Link, but over the last few weeks, when he wasn’t sure if his best friend was going to live or not, he had become accustomed to sliding his hand into Link’s as soon as he sat down. This time didn’t seem any different. Link, though still not completely alert, seemed to understand, and weakly squeezed Rhett’s hand in response. Rhett smiled in return.  
*************************************************************************************  
Link’s recovery was slow. After he woke, the doctors kept him in ICU for several more days in case there were any complications from his waking. Once the doctors were satisfied that there wouldn’t be any, he was moved to a step-down unit.

  
Rhett filmed another video on YouTube, updating fans on Link’s progress and that he was awake and had been moved out of ICU. He had hoped to include Link in the video as well, however he was having a lot of trouble speaking and wasn’t fully cognizant yet. Rhett had been periodically sending updates through Twitter over the past several weeks, but felt that since Link was improving, their Mythical Beasts needed more than a Twitter update.

  
Sue brought Link’s kids everyday to see him; the first night in the step-down unit, Lando crawled into the bed next to his dad. He tried to convince Christy to let him stay there, however she reminded him he had school the next day and needed to get plenty of sleep. She was also afraid that Lando would keep Link awake and he needed to rest as much as he could.

  
While Link was in the step-down, one of the physical therapists that had been there while he was in ICU came in every day to work with him and help rebuild his muscles. Even though they had been working them while he was in the coma and the doctors had put a feeding tube in his stomach, he had still lost quite a bit of weight and was very frail and weak. A speech pathologist also started working with him, as he was having a lot of difficulty with speaking. The speech pathologist determined that the injury to Link’s brain caused a mild form of aphasia, which impacts a person’s ability to speak, read, write or comprehend language in some way. Since it was mild, he was hopeful that Link would eventually recover all comprehensive abilities.

  
Link was just finishing a session with the speech pathologist when Rhett came in. The therapies were difficult and took a lot out of Link. Christy had been sitting by the window, but when the speech pathologist left, she moved to sit on the bed next to Link. He motioned his hand towards his throat, trying to tell Christy he needed something to drink.  
“Do you want me to ask the nurse for some ice chips?” Christy asked.

  
Link made a face, telling her that wasn’t what he wanted.

  
“Baby, the doctors have already told you, no liquids yet. You still have too much trouble with swallowing.” Christy reminded him gently. “Do you want some ice chips?”  
Link nodded weakly, Rhett could see the amount of effort every movement he made took. Christy stood and went out to the nurses’ station to get the ice. Rhett could feel the familiar burn the tears caused in his eyes. He fought them back, not wanting Link to see them. Rhett hated seeing his best friend like that. He was used to Link being the loveable goofball that lived on coffee and cereal, gagged during almost every episode they filmed that included food, once ate a worm's anus, willingly let himself be made into a human sushi roll, a human pizza, and a human bag of Cheetos. This was the same Link that almost took Chase’s hand off with a dart, wasn’t allowed near anything sharp, let a beekeeper create a bee beard of 10,000 bees on his face, put his head in a glass cage with a live python, cuddled with Rhett while they were both covered in cockroaches and once scared himself with his own sheet. To see him like this was almost harder than seeing him when he was in the coma.

  
Link tried to smile when he saw Rhett, but the effort was too much. Rhett sat down beside him, grasped his hand to let him know it was ok. Link tried to open his mouth to speak, before remembering he couldn’t. His frustration became evident in his clear blue eyes.

  
“Hey, it’s ok,” Rhett told him gently. “You don’t need to speak. I know that’s hard for you, since you never seem to shut up.” Link rolled his eyes at the last part.

  
Christy came back with the ice chips before either of them could do anything else. She sat on the side of the bed again, carefully pushing a spoonful into her husband’s mouth.  
“They are doing another swallow test tomorrow.” Christy informed Rhett. Link had failed the last one, the substance used for the test went into his lungs, his esophagus not keeping it out the way it was supposed to. He had been working with the speech pathologist for over a week though, so his doctor wanted to try again, hoping for a better result.  
*************************************************************************************  
Link passed the test the next day, though not without difficulty. He had some trouble swallowing but managed to keep it out of his lungs. He remained in the hospital for another 2 weeks before he was moved to a rehabilitation facility. He continued to work with a physical therapist, along with an occupational therapist to help him relearn every day things, like getting dressed, brushing his hair and teeth among other things. He was also still working with the speech pathologist, and though his speech wasn’t completely back to normal, he was able to form simple words and phrases, something Rhett and Christy took as a good sign.

  
Members of the Mythical crew came in to see him almost every day. Rhett didn’t know what he would do without Stevie, the girl was Godsend. She handled all of the business ends of GMM and Mythicality, dealing with the sponsors, and all of the day to day things that Rhett and Link usually handled. The crew continued to bring in the cards, letters and gifts that viewers were sending in. Link had been overwhelmed when he saw everything the Mythical Beasts had sent him, tears brimmed his blue eyes as Rhett read the cards and letters to him. The crew had also made a compilation of all the videos the fans had sent as well. Rhett could tell how much the support by the Mythical Beasts meant to him and hoped that the love all of them showed would aid his recovery.  
*************************************************************************************  
Link had been in the rehab facility for over three weeks before he was able to speak almost normally, though there were still times when he struggled a bit. The speech pathologist had told them that due to the type of injury Link had sustained, that spontaneous recovery was possible.

  
The physical and occupational therapies were not having the same success however. Link was having trouble walking and even standing sometimes, along with completing simple tasks like putting on his shoes or feeding himself. He grew more and more frustrated as the therapies continued, he wasn’t improving as fast as he had hoped. The therapists explained that it was normal however and would require patience as he retrained his healing brain. Rhett knew how hard that was for Link because he was such a perfectionist. He thought about when they were in college and how Link would study almost non-stop if he had a test or exam coming up because he was terrified of failing and to Link, unless he got 100% he felt that he had failed.

  
Rhett was concerned about his friend’s mental state, since Link was so discouraged with his progress and sometimes felt that he would never return to normal, or at least normal for Link. Rhett voiced these concerns with Christy and his doctor, after some discussion they all decided it would be best if a psychologist came to see him. Link was not happy at first, however after Christy explained why the psychologist was there, he decided to speak to her.  
*************************************************************************************  
Link remained at the rehab center for almost 3 months before the doctor finally decided he could go home. He had fully regained his ability to speak and was able to do most things on his own however walking was still an issue for him. The physical therapist and doctor insisted that Link still use a wheelchair until he was entirely able to walk and stand on his own.

  
The entire crew plus Link’s family and Rhett’s all came to the rehab center the day Link was released. It had been almost 6 months since the accident had occurred. They were all thrilled that he was finally able to go home, even though he still had to go to physical therapy every day and still wouldn’t be able to return to work anytime soon. The crew had taken the cards and gifts to Link’s house when he was moved to the rehab center and the day before he came home, they brought everything that was at the studio over as well.

  
It was slow getting Link into the house while he was in the wheelchair, a few times he tried to get up and walk, something Rhett firmly stopped him from doing, asserting that he needed to remain in the wheelchair. They finally got him into the house, where the kids had made a banner they hung in the living room that said, “Welcome home.” Almost every inch of the living room was covered in stuffed animals, balloons, and other knick knacks.

  
“Where did all of this come from?” Link asked, wheeling over to the couch and picking up a stuffed cockatrice.

  
“They’re from the Mythical beasts,” Rhett told him. “The crew couldn’t take all of it to the hospital, so some of it stayed at the studio. When they heard you were being released, they packed it all up and brought it here.”

  
“Wow,” Link whispered softly. The love and support from his fans had been overwhelming. He couldn’t believe there were so many Mythical Beasts that cared about him so much. Some of the gifts, like the cockatrice had even been hand made. “I don’t know what we are going to do with all of this.” Link shook his head.

  
Most of the crew departed not long after. The trip home, though not very long, was still very taxing on Link and they didn’t want him overexerting himself. Rhett and his family stayed, Sue had made dinner for everyone and Lily baked a cake to celebrate her dad’s homecoming.

  
Later that night, Rhett and his family said their goodbyes, Shepard even gave Link a hug before departing. Link was touched by what everyone had done, but was also visibly exhausted, so Rhett and Jessie decided to call it a night so Link could get some sleep.  
*************************************************************************************  
About a week later, Rhett went to Link’s house, as he did almost every day. Lincoln and Lando answered the door, informing Rhett that Link and Christy were in family room.  
Rhett entered the room quietly, noticing that Link was laying on the couch asleep with his head resting in his wife’s lap. Christy was absently playing with Link’s hair while watching a movie. She smiled when she noticed Rhett enter the room.

  
“How’s he doing?” Rhett asked softly, sitting down in the chair next to the couch.

  
“Better, I think.” Christy whispered, continuing to play with Link hair. “His physical therapy is going well. The therapist thinks he may not need the wheelchair much longer.”

  
“That’s great,” Rhett whispered. “I’m sure he’s happy about that.”

  
“You have no idea,” Christy chuckled softly. “He has done nothing but complain about it since he came home.”

  
Link started to stir slightly, Christy gently rubbed his arm to soothe him back to sleep.

  
“He gets tired so easily,” She said, looking down at her sleeping husband. “As soon as we get home from the physical therapy he falls asleep.”

  
“That’s not surprising,” Rhett smiled. Link never had trouble falling asleep, he had so many photos posted on Twitter and Instagram of them traveling together and Link being sound asleep within minutes.

  
Rhett and Christy talked a few more minutes, she filled him in on his latest therapy session, and also confirmed that Link was still seeing the psychologist. While they were talking, Link’s eyes fluttered open. He looked up at his wife and then over at Rhett.

  
“How are you doing, brother?” Rhett asked gently, leaning forward.

  
Link sort of moaned, as he woke up a little more. He started to sit up, but Christy placed a hand on his shoulder, not wanting him to sit up too fast.

  
“Hey Rhett,” He said groggily. “I’m good.”

  
“Your wife says your physical therapy is going well.” Rhett began.

  
“Yeah, hopefully I can ditch that stupid chair soon.” Link glanced at the wheelchair parked next to the couch. His voice sounded hoarse, Christy called to Lincoln to bring in some water. She didn’t want to get up with Link still resting his head on her.

  
“We need to start talking about GMM,” Link said after Lincoln brought a glass of water in. “We need to start filming again soon. Not to mention we need to discuss the next season of Buddy System.”

  
“Now hold on,” Rhett held up his hand. “The doctors haven’t cleared you to return to work yet. You still have to recover first.”

  
“I know, but I’m going crazy just sitting around. I need to do something.”

  
“We’ll get there. Just relax for now and focus on getting better.”

  
The frustration showed in Link’s eyes, he wanted to get back his life back. The longer his recovery took, the more it seemed he never would.

  
“We’ll get there,” Rhett repeated, this time more forcefully. “We will have plenty of time to create more GMMs in the future and Buddy System can wait for the time being. Your health is more important.”  
Link nodded. After few moments he closed his eyes and was asleep again.  
*************************************************************************************  
After about a month, Link’s doctor finally gave him the all clear to return to work. Rhett picked Link up, which seemed odd to both of them. They used to carpool all the time together, but Link was always the one driving.

  
The crew had been incredibly excited when they learned Link was coming back to work. The last few weeks, many of them had been working on new ideas for the new episodes. They knew it would still be awhile before they could actually start filming, but at least having Link back in the studio and in the morning meetings was enough for most of them.  
Rhett had told Link all of what Stevie had done since the accident, that she jumped in without hesitation and handled everything on their end, including dealing with sponsors, their manager, and all of the things that they typically dealt with. He already knew that she was the one that made the arrangements to bring their parents out while he was in the hospital. This was the first time Link had seen Stevie since Rhett had told him everything she had done.

  
“Thank you, Stevie,” Link told her solemnly. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t jumped in the way you did.”

  
“You’re my boss. Of course, I would do anything to help you.” She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Link, enveloping him in her embrace.  
************************************************************************************  
Later that afternoon, Rhett and Link were in their office when Rhett stepped out for a moment. He returned a few minutes later and found Link laying on the floor.

  
“Link!” Rhett dropped to his friend’s side, feeling for injuries. “What happened, brother? I just stepped out for a couple minutes.”

  
“I know,” Link said, pain tracing lines in his face. “I just needed to grab something real quick and thought it would be easier if I just walked over. I wasn’t going that far, I thought it would be ok. I don’t know what happened though, after I stood up, my legs started shaking and didn’t want to move. Then they just buckled under me.” He tried to pull himself into a sitting position.

  
“Link,” Rhett looked at his friend with complete seriousness in his eye. “You know what the therapists and doctor said. Your brain wasn’t sending the right signals to your legs for a long time. You lost a lot muscle and it is going to take time to rebuild them. You can’t rush it.”

  
“I know, I just hate being stuck in that stupid chair. I feel so helpless.” Tears began brimming Link’s eyes.

  
“I know you do,” Rhett told him gently, fighting back his own tears. “I hate seeing you in it too but you have to let the muscles rebuild first and not push it.”

  
“I just want my life back.” A tear slid down Link’s cheek. Rhett gently wiped it away.

  
“Alright, let’s get you off the floor,” Rhett stood, and thought about the best way to get Link off the floor without hurting him and whether it was best to put him back in the wheelchair or lay him on the couch for the time being. Finally, Rhett decided it was better to lay him on the couch, that way he could get a better assessment as to whether or not Link was hurt.

  
Rhett gently reached down and put his arms under Link, lifting him in his arms and carrying him over to the couch. At first, he thought Link would protest, and insist that he could walk over, but apparently his fall had shaken him enough that he didn’t say anything and just allowed himself to be taken in Rhett’s strong arms. Gently Rhett laid him on the couch, placing a pillow under his head.

  
“Are you hurt anywhere?” He asked feeling Link’s legs and arms, looking for any kind of injuries, he was also watching Link’s face to see if he winced at any point while Rhett was studying him.

  
“No, I’m fine.” Link shook his head but winced when Rhett touched his left arm.

  
“Are you sure about that?” Rhett asked, feeling the arm a little more. Link winced again when Rhett touched it.

  
“My arm is a little sore, but I’m sure it’s fine.” Link finally conceded. “I think I landed on it when I fell.”

  
“Can you move it?” Rhett asked.

  
“Yeah,” Link said painfully as he bent his elbow and his wrist. Rhett flashed back to when they were filming Commercial Kings and decided to shoot themselves running down an alleyway. Link had tripped and banged his elbow along with scraping up his side pretty good. Rhett had made sure Link’s elbow wasn’t dislocated and that cut was what they ended up using in every episode.

  
Rhett carefully pushed up Link’s sleeve to look closer at his arm. He could move everything ok, and didn’t seem to be in too much pain, however his elbow was beginning to turn red, Rhett knew that was going to become a nasty bruise by the next day.

  
“I’m going to get you some ice for that. Don’t move,” He looked at Link sternly as he stood. Link nodded in agreement and Rhett headed down the hall for some ice.

  
He came back a few minutes later and Link was sound asleep. He took a blanket off the back to cover him and then moved his arm so he could apply the ice to Link’s elbow. As he held the ice against Link’s skin watching him sleep, he thought about everything that had happened over the last several months. He still couldn’t believe it; just over 7 months ago Link had almost died in this very building. There were a lot of scary moments and times when they didn’t think Link was going to make it. He did somehow, and Rhett was eternally grateful. He didn’t know what he would do without his best friend by his side.  
*************************************************************************************  
“I almost died,” Link said directly into the camera.

  
“Let’s talk about that,” Rhett said seriously before they rolled the opening animation.

  
It had been just over a month since Link had returned to work, almost 9 months since the accident, and they had finally begun filming again; even though they had a lot of ideas for new videos, they decided the first one back should be a candid look at what had actually happened to Link and what had gone into his recovery. They had convinced Link’s doctor to come on the show and explain Link’s injury and how it had impacted his brain, along with how it was ultimately able to heal itself. Link had no memory of being in the hospital and only had vague recollections of his first couple weeks in the rehab facility. The doctor explained that was part of the brain’s healing process, that it shuts off that part of itself in order to heal. He also explained why Link had had so much trouble walking and was confined to a wheelchair for a while, however just a few days before they began filming that episode, his physical therapist agreed he was strong enough to no longer need it. Since the muscle hadn’t completely recovered though, he was using a cane, which he periodically lifted up and waved over his head, causing Rhett to duck in a panic each time.

  
They had considered showing the footage of Link’s accident, from him hitting his head to when he collapsed, but decided not to. Link hadn’t seen it, nor did he remember any of it, in fact he didn’t remember anything from that day at all. Rhett decided it would be too traumatic for Link to see the video, so they chose not to, and just discuss it instead.  
They filmed a great episode; the More segment afterwards was basically a welcome back party where they read some of the letters that were sent while Link was in the hospital. The entire crew was there for the More segment, and all became very emotional as they read the letters.

  
“I am still just so overwhelmed and awed at all of the love, support and encouragement from all of you Mythical Beasts out there. It is very humbling to know this many people around the world care so much. You have no idea what this means to me, so many of you sent cards, flowers, gifts, videos. I, along with Rhett and the rest of the Mythical crew, am incredibly fortunate to have viewers like you guys.” A single tear slid down Link’s face as he expressed the sentiment, many of the crew crying as well.

  
9 months ago, Link almost lost his life in that very studio, just a few feet from where he was sitting. Rhett looked at the emotional face of his best friend, knowing how differently things could have turned out, his gratitude that Link had recovered overcoming him again as he looked at the rest of crew. It had been a long 9 months, but they finally made it back. They were home.


End file.
